35 replies to this topic

[BP Raven]

It would seem that almost every mech has at least one variant that you only buy because you want the basic unlocks across the chassis to elite the 'best' one, and then sell as soon as the pain is over. Sometimes the whole chassis class is under performing (i'm looking at you, Awesome).

It would be interesting to see which mechs people think are the worst, and what (specifically or generally) you'd do to improve them to the point that you would keep them and use them more than for a derp drop with drunken friends.

I'll start with the Raven 2x and 4x.

Personally i quite like the 2, it's got decent hardpoints, and with ECM/streaks not being the big bad they once were, taking a 3L doesn't seem mandatory, except that it's limited to a 245 engine giving 124.7 kph with tweak, which is slower than some mediums.

The Raven 4x was to me at the time a painful experience (this was when machine guns were terribad mind you) so i strapped an ac20 to it mostly for the wtf? factor, but it did at least make it a laugh to drive. It too has the 245 engine limit, meaning only the most dedicated soul will drive one beyond the basics.

Personally speaking, i don't think it would be game breaking if both these under used mechs got the same engine cap as their much more popular brother, the 3L. Both would be able to retain their stock weapon loadout and fit the 295 by upgrading to FF and Endo Steel (which is more than can be said for the 3L, crammed full of electronic goodies as it is). The 2x would then be able give other lights a decnt run for their money in a fight, carrying a better offensive armament than the 3L, while the 4 would be able to perform the machine gun harrasment enjoyed by spider 5K drivers with the bonus of an SRM launcher.

Thoughts and opinions? Which mech's would you like to see given a little loving, and how?

[El Bandito]

Give all Awesomes the ability to boat more than 2 PPCs without extra heat penalty.

BAM!

[xCico]

First one
Victor VTR-9B instead of 3 ballistic slots id like somethin with 4 missle hardpoint, cause 3B, 2E and 2M,,, No thanks!
Then
Awsomes all of them needs to compress a little bit, too easy to die with them
Blacjacks- need bigger engines except 1X he is fine

[Bishop Steiner]

19cico96, on 24 July 2013 - 10:24 AM, said:

First one
Victor VTR-9B instead of 3 ballistic slots id like somethin with 4 missle hardpoint, cause 3B, 2E and 2M,,, No thanks!
Then
Awsomes all of them needs to compress a little bit, too easy to die with them
Blacjacks- need bigger engines except 1X he is fine

the VTR-9B unloved? Seems plenty popular, and I am laying out 3-5 kill 700-800 pt matches in mine....... *shrugs*

I agree the Awesome needs help. Quirking it to use 3 PPC with no heat escalation would be huge. And creeping the Side Torsos in to cover more of the CT would be the icing on the cake.

[Barantor]

Trebuchet 5J - supposed to be the "mobile" of the trebs and sacrifices an LRM 15 in the left arm to do it. I say give it a much better engine in the stock format or at least give it another hardpoint in the left torso since it tends to get royally screwed once the arms are off (especially if the only torso weapon is the LRM). One laser point in the left torso would be enough and I would even say it could take the one off the right arm to do it.

Awesomes - side torso over more of the center, able to use 3 ppcs without heat penalty on those variants that came stock with them.

Edited by Barantor, 24 July 2013 - 10:28 AM.

[One Medic Army]

The worst mechs I can think of:
Slow ravens (description gives clue as how to fix)
Slow blackjacks (as above)
Ballistic Cicada (make MGs able to actually strip armor somewhat)
Ballistic Spider (as above)
Awesomes (hitboxes, possibly special tweaks)
Trebuchets (while not as bad as others on the list, they are still very large and highly dependent on arm weaponry, which tends to get shot off pretty quick unless you let people get at the juicy center)

[BP Raven]

As for the Awesome, i would definately be in favour of altering the hitboxes (at this point i can't see a new in game model any time soon) so that the arms extend over the side torsi like in the mech lab, shrink the CT some and adjust the sides accordingly. If it was to have a bonus/quirk to PPCs/energy weapons i would advocate a % or general point reduction across the board, but keep the boating penalty (unless someone who is better with the maths than me can say why that wouldn't work).

As for spiders, the one i hated most (and still do) is the 5V, my suggestion for that would be to move one hardpoint to a side torso or arm, so it could at least fit a large and medium laser, or 2 large if you lost all the jets.

[Skydrive]

Well, I have never sold a mech after getting the basics unlocked or anything. Actually the only Raven I have right now is the 4X and I rather enjoy it. In my consideration right now, I would think the Raven 2X is the only mech that is in very bad shape right now, since it is the least mobile light mech in game. I actually consider the 4X at about the same mobility as the 3L due to the Jump Jets. I do think the Awesome's should get some kind of quirk for using more PPC's. Would be nice if the Spider 5V had arm energy hardpoints since it's the only Spider that can jump ontop of an enemy mech, but not hit it with its weapons while there (but it is capable of being a zombie mech). Would like it if the raised the engine cap on, if not all of the Commando's, atleast the Death's Knell, but that can't be done really until the speed cap is lifted.
I think the Blackjacks are fine for their engine sizes, though mind you I only have the BJ-1, but we are talking about a medium support fire mech, which is designed for being fast enough to get to positions and relocate, and with two variants having Jump Jets to help reach spots.

[Ryokens leap]

I made a post yesterday lamenting that the Dragon can't arm mount an AC20 thus allowing it to run an xl engine ie: a nastier Yen Lo Wang. Many lighter mechs can arm mount the 20, why not the Dragon? Would also like to see a quirk where the Dragon ct would lose 6 or 8 feet if the missile launcher hard point went unused (mech rhinoplasty), many mechs change graphically with different load outs, keep the hitbox the same just visually it would look different.

[Merit Lef]

Awesome is known for and built around the 3 PPC. Remove the heat penalty. Its hard enough as it is with that tractor beam of a CT.

[Dexion]

I made a suggestion about this Here

[Postumus]

In order for variants to be useful, and even the mechs themselves for that matter, they have to fill specific, different, useful roles. Right now, the great majority of mechs have no real defined role, and can be fitted out to do almost anything you want. This is cool from a customization point of view, but what happens to the game is that many mechs become superfluous, because there are other mechs or variants that can fit the same weapons or do the same job, and do it with better hardpoint locations (upper body, nubbin arms) or with a smaller profile (dragon vs. quickdraw, hunchback vs. centurion). This ends up reducing mech diversity, not increasing it.

What is needed are clearly defined roles for each mech, which they can fulfill better than a mech not designed for that role. There are many ways to acheive this, but the easiest and most sensible ways are some restrictions on what mechs can carry which weapons, and how many. A few other people and myself have advocated for hardpoint sizes, as detailed in my thread here.

Implementing hardpoint sizes would mean that, for instance, the currently neglected Hunchback 4G would become the only variant that can carry an AC/20, making it useful again. The Awesome 8Q and 9M would be the only two mechs in the game that could carry up to 3 PPCs, making them useful again. There are other examples, but the bottom line is that mechs would actually become different, and there would be good reasons to choose one variant over another, or one mech over another. Also, a big bonus, heavy weapon boating would be greatly reduced. If you like this idea, go vote in my poll for hardpoint size restrictions.

[AntiCitizenJuan]

When collisions come back, make the Awesome the hardest to knock over and one of the best to take mechs down.
Kind of makes sense, its small, wide and very dense. I think that would give it some much needed viability.

[Wolfways]

I choose the Catapult.
Yeah i know it's actually a fairly popular mech (especially for new players), and i accept that the torso is huge and sticks out making it easy to hit, but the cockpit hitbox needs reduced slightly. It's way too easy to accidentally headshot a Catapult just by shooting at the torso.

[One Medic Army]

Wolfways, on 24 July 2013 - 09:12 PM, said:

I choose the Catapult.
Yeah i know it's actually a fairly popular mech (especially for new players), and i accept that the torso is huge and sticks out making it easy to hit, but the cockpit hitbox needs reduced slightly. It's way too easy to accidentally headshot a Catapult just by shooting at the torso.

It just got reduced recently apparently.
No longer includes the side panels.

[Wolfways]

One Medic Army, on 24 July 2013 - 09:15 PM, said:

It just got reduced recently apparently.
No longer includes the side panels.

It did? lol
I just came back to MWO a few days ago after a long break and have had about a dozen matches. In one match, in my K2, i was headshot and instantly killed by the first mech i saw (I didn't even get to fire that match!), and in another match i fired at an enemy mech and missed but managed to headshot the Cat that was far behind it.
I've also watched a few other Cats on my team get headshot.

I'm not saying it should be impossible, but it still seems far too easy.

[One Medic Army]

Wolfways, on 24 July 2013 - 09:42 PM, said:

It did? lol
I just came back to MWO a few days ago after a long break and have had about a dozen matches. In one match, in my K2, i was headshot and instantly killed by the first mech i saw (I didn't even get to fire that match!), and in another match i fired at an enemy mech and missed but managed to headshot the Cat that was far behind it.
I've also watched a few other Cats on my team get headshot.

I'm not saying it should be impossible, but it still seems far too easy.

Personally, I find the easiest to headshot mech is the centurion, but the cat it's right in the middle of where everyone aims, so...

[Shakespeare]

stalker with dedicated NARC tube: Make NARC not worthless.

kthnxbie

[JudgeDeathCZ]

Increase engine cap for 2X and 4X ravens.
Reduce CT hitbox on Awesomes.

[Skydrive]

Shakespeare, on 24 July 2013 - 09:46 PM, said:

stalker with dedicated NARC tube: Make NARC not worthless.

kthnxbie

I don't know if worthless is the right word... I mean, you could have some group mate have a NARC in a light mech and do a Dine and Dash. You could also use it to keep track of lights for your multiple streaks in maps like Frozen City and River City. It's also kind of nice how NARC ammo is the second safest ammo to have in your mech.